The Good Wife

The Good Wife, He survived the wrath of Peter Florrick and the State’s Attorney office, but Will Gardner (Josh Charles) was no match for the Illinois State Bar Association on Sunday’s episode of The Good Wife. Faced with the possibility of losing his law license forever, Will took responsibility for that $45,000 loan and agreed to a six-month suspension. So what’s next? How will his time away from the law change Will? How will Lockhart Gardner Lockhart and Associates, and Alicia (Julianna Margulies), change without him? TVGuide.com spoke with show bosses Robert and Michelle King to get our burning questions answered.

How long has this been in the works?
Robert King: We started this year thinking the theme would be about risk. It really turned fairly quickly into being about consequences. Our people have a lot of close scrapes and get off. This one felt like it should come down like a lot of bricks on Will’s head. And we didn’t want to just disbar him completely.

Why was it important for Will in particular to kind of face more serious consequences?
Michelle King: It felt real. There were big threats against Will and we wanted to show that yes, in fact he was going to feel the pain and there were going to be changes in his life and in the show.
Robert King: It’s like the first year when there was a competition between Cary and Alicia. There’s a term TV writers called ‘Schmuck Bait,’ which is the idea that there are some plots that you know aren’t going to happen, like Superman is not going to die. Having Cary actually be fired in Season 1 felt like we were taking these threats very seriously and avoiding ‘Schmuck Bait’. For Will, it felt like there really needed to be repercussions from it.

How will Will continue to be a part of the show if he can’t practice law or go to the firm?
Robert King: He’s in every episode, but it is a delicate dance. There is the dance of what you are allowed to do as a business partner in that firm, and what you’re prevented from doing as a lawyer. This is difficult for Will and he really wants to honor the suspension too.